Almost every cat or dog owner will tell you that fireworks and your beloved pet do not go well together. The loud boom of the vibrant explosions ought to frighten your pet, and with the November fireworks only recently occurring, there is no doubt that the majority of cats and dogs (or any pet) lay inside whining in fear. And who can blame them? Like all animals, blaring sounds connote danger for our pets. But not for this plucky dog…

 

My dog, Duplo, is a one-and-a-half-year-old Havanese, an atypical dog breed associated with Havana, Cuba; and he is fearless. Despite his itsy-bitsy size, he is a rather confident dog who does not cower in the face of danger: this canine does not hate fireworks, but loves them.

 

I was fortunate enough to buy my fluffy companion during the first national lockdown in 2020 before the waiting lists for newly-bred dogs became inordinate. Since Duplo was a “lockdown puppy” and walks outside were limited due to lockdown rules we were advised to expose him to loud sounds as soon as possible. We invested in an app called “Sound Proof Puppy Training” which we could easily connect to our speakers and played random noises every now and again to ensure our puppy became used to loud sounds.

 

Initially, Duplo’s reaction was a mixture of shock, fear and confusion. Not only was he unsure about the whereabouts of the noise, but also about what was happening since he had never heard such unusual sounds before. However, his alarmed reaction quickly diminished as we continued to play different sounds each day until he didn’t even flinch at the chainsaw sound effect coming from our kitchen speakers.

 

The heroic Havanese still sees loud noises as a threat, but he does not hold back when it comes to running out into the garden to stare up at the colourful sky. My mother states that “he sits at the back door and barks because he can’t wait to go outside and watch the fireworks.”